Door latch



Oct. 4,1927. 1,644,240 w. c. DEVEREAUX DOOR LATQH File d Dec. 10, 1923 i II l I I anueutoz Patented Oct. 4, 1927.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM C. DEVEREAUX; OI DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

noon Lemon.

Application filed December 10, 1923. Serial No. 679,769.

will fit its keeper snugly to prevent the door from sagging when in closed position.

Another object is to provide a latch having a bolt that will remain in engagement with its keeper when the door is closed. even though the vehiclebody is subjected to torsional strains and stre ses which'increase the distance between the keeper and the outer edge ,of the door. I

Another object is toprovide a latch having simple and effective means for preventing the bolt from rattling when in engagement with its keeper.

Another object is to provide a latch having means for retaining the operating, handle thereof in a pre-determ-ined position with respect to the outer edge of the door when the bolt is in extended position.

lVith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain. novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claim,

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a doorlatch embodying my invention with the cover plate shown in dotted lines;

Figures 2, 3 and'4 are cross sections respectively on the lilies 22, 3-'3 and 44 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a horizontal cross section through a vehicle door showlng my latch in plan.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral 1 designates a case plate which is preferably secured to the inner side' of a vehicle door 2 and which is provided at one edge with a laterally extending flange 3 that is. secured to the outeredge of the door. Slidably mounted on the case plate is a bolt 4 having a relatively flat shank -5 extending between a pair of parallel struck-out ears 6 and having a relatively long enlarged head-7 extending through the flange 3 for engage ment with a keeper 8 upon an upright'member 9 of the vehicle body.

In order that the door will be prevented from sagging when closed, I preferabl provide the head 7 of the bolt with a su stantially frusto-conical nose 10 that is adapted to fit snugly within a correspondingly shaped socket 11 in the keeper. Thus, should the door be sagging when it is moved to closed position the frusto-conical portion of the bolt head will engage the lower ed e of the socket l1 and will automatically ride upwardly thereover and into the socket. This will cause the outer edge of the door to move from a sagging inclined position to the proper vertical position parallel to the upright member 9.

The bolt is normally retained in extended position by means of a helical spring 12 and the arrangement is preferably such that when the door is closed and the space between the flange 3 and the keeperis slight as usual, the bolt will be partially extended and that when the space between the flange and keeper increases while the door is closed due to torsional strains and stresses to which the vehicle body is often times subjected, the bolt will be extended further automatically by the spring 12 to remain in snug engagement with the keeper. Furthermore, as the nose of the bolt is adapted to fit the socket in the keeper snugly, the spring 12 will hold lugs 13 struck out from the case plate, while the other end thereof abuts the forward end of a longitudinally extending slot 14 formed in the shank. of the bolt.

For retracting the bolt, there is a curved lever 15 that is pivoted at one end to the case plate and that extends upwardly through the slot 14"and engages an upstanding lug 16 on the upper edge of the bolt. A cover plate 17 is arranged parallel to the case plate and is provided with forwardl projecting tongues 18 that, extend throng openings 19 in the lateral flange 3 and that are preferably riveted thereover. This cover plate is secured to the case plate by screws 20 that threadedly engage tubular spacers 21 which extend through the case platev and are riveted thereto. The cover plate is provided with an elongated open ended slot 23 that extends longitudinally thereof and that registers with the bolt, the

shank of the bolt being preferably cut away at its inner end so as to extend behind the cover plate. The lever'15 is limited in its forward movement by one of the spacers 21 and is preferably held in engagement therewith by means ofga spring 25 that is coiled about another of the spacers 21. One end of the spring '25 abuts the lower lug 13 whilethe other end abuts the inner edge of the lever.

- In order that the bolt may be retracted without moving the lever 15 b a person outside of the body, I prefera ly provide a rotatable hub 27 that is journalled in the case plate and that has an upstanding actuating arm 28 engageable with a curved arm 29extending downwardly from the shank of the bolt. lhe hub 27 is also provided with a polygonal opening 30 that receives the operating shank 31 of a. suitable handle 32 which preferably extends transversely of the shank. Thus, when the arm 28 is rocked by the handle 32 to retract the bolt, the lug 16 on the bolt will be disengaged from the lever 15 which will be held in engagement with the adjacent spacer 21 by the spring 25. When the lever 15 is used to retract the bolt, the arm 29 will be moved away from the actuating arm 28 so that the handle 32 will remain in normal position.

To dog the bolt, 1 have provided a cam member 33 that is adapted to be rotated by suitable key-operated mechanism 34: into engagement with an elongated recess 35 in the shank of the bolt. For this purpose the cam member 33 is preferably non-rotatably mounted on a hub 36 that is journaled in the plates 1 and Hand that is provided with a polygonal opening 37 for engagement by the actuating shank 38 of the key-operated mechanism.

In the construction of vehicle bodies, it

. sometimes happens that there is quite a space provided between the keeper on the usual upright member and the outer edge of the door when the latter is in closed position. When such'is the case only a very small portion of the ordinary bolt engages the keeper, consequently thereis a possibility of an unauthorized person unlocking the door by disengaging the bolt from the keeper. With the present invention this is prevented for the reason that the bolt, is

though the space between the keeper and fiangej3 is greater'than usual and the locking recess 35' is of sufficient length to receive the cam 33 in either partially or fully extended positions of the bolt.

It is customary to have all of the outside operating handlesof vehicle door looks or latches normally extend either horizontally or vertically with respect to the vehicle body. With the present invention, the handle preferably: extends horizontally when in normal position. To accomplish thisthe opening 30 is preferably arranged in the hub 27 so that one side of the shank 31, ,which is preferably square shape in cross section, will be normally. disposed parallel to the flange 3. In order that the handle will be returned automatically to normal position after being operated, 1 preferably provide a coil spring 40 that surrounds the shank 31. One end of the spring '40 is preferably anchored in the usual escutcheon plate 41, while the other end thereof is anchored in a suitable washer 42 that is sleeved upon the shank 31 and that is secured in position thereon by lateral projections 43 on the shank.

In use, after the bolt has been unlocked by rotating the cam 33 out of the recess 35 the door may be opened by rotating the handle j) 32 which is first moved against the tension of the spring &0 before it actuates the arm 28 to retract the bolt against the tension of the spring 12. The door may be opened from the inside by simply operating the lever 15 to retract the bolt.

What I claim as my invention is In a latch, .the combination with a case plate, of a bolt having a shank slidably mounted on said case plate, one longitudinal edge of said shank having an open longitudinally extending recess therein, bolt retracting means associated with 'said'shank, and means for rendering said retracting means inoperative including a shank rotably mounted in said case plate upon one side of said shank and adjacent to the open recess therein, and a dog carried by the rotatable shank and adapted to swing into the recess in said slidable shank.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM C. DEVEREAUX. 

